Bio station turns 100

At 100, most are slowing considerably, their most important accomplishments of the past, rather than those ahead.

At its centennial, however, the University of Michigan Biological Station at Douglas Lake is going strong, still providing important contributions to a variety of scientific disciplines.

“The Changing Environment of Northern Michigan” tells the story of the station’s first hundred years, but also offers insights into the continuing importance of monitoring the flora and fauna of the region.

Co-edited by scientists Knute Nadelhoffer, Alan Hogg Jr. and Brian Hazlett, the book is comprised of 21 chapters, ranging across topics such as aquatic ecosystems and climate change. The editors consider the book a layman’s field guide, a scientific inquiry for the non-scientist.

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In his introduction, David Gates, a professor of botany and a former station director, explains how, “In 1900 Professor Jacob E. Reighard, a zoologist and fish expert, first made a plea to the University of Michigan Board of Regents for the establishment of a biological station in the Great Lakes area.” And while no action was taken immediately, a local lumber baron, Charles Bogardus “conveyed 1,441 acres on the shore of Douglas Lake to the University of Michigan for a civil engineering camp.” This laid the foundation for the biological station.

In chapters on “Transitions, Growth, and Outreach,” as well as those on the growth of the “Interdisciplinary Era,” and more, Gates unwinds the first hundred years in brief historical detail.

From Gates’ introduction, successive chapters, augmented by color photographs and charts and maps, each examining the significance of a different natural feature, demonstrating the importance of man-made change, as well as evolutionary shifts in climate and landscape.

Writing about “The Fungi,” for example, Marilyn Smith explains how, “The forest has aged and succession has proceeded to the point that mature hardwoods and pines can be found on most parts of the property.” This evolution provides “a diversity of decomposition fungi,” and “a mushroom hunter’s dream.”

Smith narrates an almost systematic explanation of where to hike, which mushrooms will be found where, and what factors have provided this fertile fungi find.

In their examination of “Reptiles and Amphibians,” Joel T. Heinen and Michael E. Grant take a more formal approach. On the subject of breeding, they explain, “Toads for example, lay eggs over a period of a week or more, but tadpoles within any given pond metamorphose within a day of each other,” providing for a method to “satiate predators.” Not all tadpoles are eaten because they emerge on a nearly constant basis.

In his closing chapter on the future of the station, current director Nadlehoffer suggests the book’s most important conclusion: “The information derived from this research … provides facts and data needed to inform decisions about how we humans … might better perform to sustain the life support system upon which we all rely.”

Nadelhoffer and his colleagues provide a meaningful glimpse into the beauty and the fragility of our area in “The Changing Environment of Northern Michigan.”

Good Reading.

Glen Young teaches English at Petoskey High School. His column, Literate Matters, appears the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Young can be reached at P.O. Box 174, Petoskey, Mich. 49770. Follow his blog at www.literatematters.blogspot.com.